11/19/2015 ShriramKrishnamurthi:AdvicetoGraduateSchoolRecommendationLetterWriters

AdvicetoGraduateSchool
RecommendationLetterWriters
ShriramKrishnamurthi
Firstversion:20080325.Revised:20080326(thanks,KathiFisler),20101021,
20101120,20120504,20141216(thanks,NormanRamsey).

SomeyearsagoIwastalkingtoavisitingscholarwhowasafacultymemberina
foreigncountry.Iaskedherwhylettersfromhercountryseemedtobeso
uninformative.Shepointedoutthatthere,facultyneverreadletters:theyonlywrite
them.Evengraduatestudentsareadmittedpurelyonthebasisoftestscores.

Thefactswerehardlysurprisingafterall,thisisthesystemIgrewupwithinIndia
butafterhearingthewaysheputit,theproverbialbulblitup.Ifyouneverevaluate
lettersyourself,howwouldyouknowwhatlettersshouldandshouldn'tcontain?The
feedbackadmissiondecisionsisseeminglyrandom,andthereforeoflittleuse.
Hencethisarticle.

Disclaimer:Thisisanextremelypersonalopinion.Itdoesn'trepresenttheviewsofmy
departmentormyuniversity.Moreimportantly,manyfacultymaydisagreewiththe
opinionshere,sousethemwithcaution!Feedbackwelcome.

Whatthisdocumentisabout:WritingeffectiverecommendationlettersforPhD
studentsapplyingtocomputersciencePhDprogramsintheUS.

Whomthisisfor:Letterwriterswhoareunsureofwhatmakesforagoodletter.This
mayalsohelpstudentspreparebetterdossierstogivetheirletterwriters.(Abrave
studentmightevenpointherletterwritertothisarticle.)

Alsoread:MorHarcholBalter'scomments,MichaelErnst'sadvice.

WhyLettersMatter
Doesanyonereadthelettersatall?Wedo,rigorously,sometimesascarefullyaswe
readaresearchpaper:peninhand,circlingcomments,annotatingmargins,noting
whattheletterdidanddidn'tsay.

Infact,lettersaresoimportant,evenabadtranscriptcanbeoffsetbythem.Iknowa
studentwhogotintoafinegraduateprogramwithjusta2.67GPA.Thisisbecausehis
2.67wasspecial:heacedhardclassesandgotboredineasyones.Hisletters
presumablysaidso,andillustratedthiswithseveralanecdotes.So,notevery2.67is
equal,andyourstudent'smaybeofjusttherightkindbutwewon'tknowthatwithout
yourletter.

MyConstraints(or,TheOneMinuteRule)

WhenI'monthecommittee,ItrytoreadeveryapplicationwhenIchairit,Imakesure
Ido,somemultipletimes.That'smanyhundredsofapplicationsinunderamonth.
Factorinlotsandlotsoflateletters,classes,etc.,andit'sclearIhavetoworkpretty
fast.

ForthefirstpassdecidingwhethertheapplicationdeservesmoretimeornotIcan
affordtospendnomorethanabout67minutesperapplication.(KeepinmindI've
readmaybeafewthousandapplications,soI'vehadpractice.)IfIdecidethe

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applicationispromising,Imayspendoverhalfanhour(insomecases,days!)onit.
Butinthosefirst67minutes,Ihaveto:

eyeballthestudent'sresearchrecord
formasummaryofthetranscript
glanceatthestandardizedtestscores
determinewhetherthestatementispromising
getthegistof23lettersofrecommendation

Inpractice,thatmeansIhaveaboutoneminutetodevotetothefirstreadingofyour
letter.Nowthinkaboutwhetheryourletterworksinthiscontext.(Forinstance,some
letterwritersputabig,prominentparagraphofboilerplatelegaleseatthebeginningof
theirletter,whichIhavetoreadbeforeIrealizeit'sirrelevant.Couldyouhaveburied
thatinapostscript?Wasthatthebestuseofmyminute?)

CallthistheOneMinuteRuleandwrite,read,andrereadyourletteragainstthisrule
beforesendingitin.

BeConcrete
Ifyoutakeawayjustonepieceofconcreteadvice,letitbethis.

Thesinglebiggestproblemwithmostlettersisthattheyarefilledwithabstract
generalitiesandinfinitives.Ifwedon'tknowyouoryourinstitution,wecan'tjudge
whatanyofthesestatementsmeanrelativetoourstandards.Alwaysconsiderthe
illustrativeanecdote:

Duetodeadlinepressure,Iaskedhimtogrowapumpkininjustone
month.Asyouknowittakesover100daystogrowapumpkin,butover
theweekendhedevisedanewmethodtoacceleratetheirgrowth.On
MondaymorningIarrivedtofindnotjustapumpkinbutasteaming,
flavorfulpie.

Anecdoteaboutactsofrawcodingareonlysohelpfulinunderstandingresearch
potential,butthey'rebetterthannothing(seethesectiononCorporateLetters,below).
Anextrabookorpapertheyread,anddemonstratedunderstandingof(again,be
concreteaboutwhyyoubelievethis),goesalongway.

TriangulationandCredibility

Whenwereadaletterwe'resupposedlyevaluatingthestudent,butwe'reactually
evaluatingtheletterwritertoo.WhatIcareaboutisnotonlywhatyouthink,butalso
whatIthinkofwhatyouthink.IfIdon'tknowyou,Ineedtocalibrateyou.

Ofcourse,sometimesinformationcanhurt.Ifyoupraiseresearchthatisnoharderthan
whatweassignourfirstyearundergraduatestudents,thattellsusalotaboutyour
program,butnotalotpositive.Isawpreciselysuchaletterbackinabout2002tothis
day,Icannamethecollege(andthestudent...).Untilthatprogrambecomesawhole
lotstronger,Iwouldn'twanttoadmitanyonefromit.

Ifyou'vebeenholdingbackpraise,tellus:Ifyouhaven'twrittenaletterthisstrong
since1998,andyou'vewrittentwodozenlettersinthattime,ithelpsforustoknow
that.Ofcourse,behonest.Ifwetakeyouatyourwordandyourstudentprovestobe
significantlyweakerthanyourletter,wewon'ttrustyourfuturerecommendations.

Italsohelpstoknowyourtrackrecord.Especiallyifyouareaprofessoratalesser
knownuniversity,telluswhereyourpastgraduateshavegone.Evenbetter,tellus
wheretheyarenow(maybethelackofnamerecognitionforyourschoolmeansthe
studentsdidn'tgotowellknownplacesinitially,butiftheydidwellandarenow
placedingoodpositions,that'sgoodtoknow).Remembertocomparethisstudentto

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thatpopulation.

Finally,tellusalittleaboutyourbackground.Abriefparaofbiosketchneverhurts.If
youpublishpapers,telluswhere.Butkeepitshort:theletterisaboutthestudent,not
you!

Ultimately,remembertwothings:

Yourmostvaluableresourceisyourcredibility.Ifyouareacredibleletter
writer,wewilltakeyouatyourwordand,ifonedayyoutellusaboutastellar
student,wewilldoeverythingwecantomakeroomforher.Butcredibilityis
oneway:hardtoacquire,easytolose.
Youcan'tgetastudentin,butyoucanmakeastudentnotgetin.Thatis,thereis
onlysomuchyoucansaytogetastudentadmitted,butifwecometodistrust
yourletter,yournextstudentisgoingtohaveamuchhardertimegettingin.For
you,substituteyourinstitutionalso.

ReportingonResearch
AtahighlycompetitiveuniversitylikeBrown,wewanttoknowthestudent'sresearch
potential.Thebestassessmentofthisiswhattheyhavealreadydone.Ifyouaretheir
researchadvisor,youhaveaspecialobligationtothem(andtous)inyourletter:

describetheirworkinyourownwords
telluswhatthestudent'scontributionwas
telluswhetheritsucceededorfailed
ifit'songoing,telluswhyyouthinkitwillsucceed

Werarelyexpecttheideastohaveoriginatedfromthestudent,butwewouldliketo
seesignsthattheytookownershipoftheproject,improveditinsomeway,refinedthe
idea,andsoon.Finally:

putanypublicationsincontext

Studentsdon'talwaysknowhowtodothis.Ifyoupublishedapaperonthework,tell
usaboutthequalityofthevenue.Inparticular,studentsarepoorattellingdifferent
kindsofpublicationsapart(techreportfromconferenceposterfromresearchpaper)
andmayeventrytohidethedistinction(I'veseenthishappen).Helpusunderstand
whattheyreallyaccomplished.

Ifyourunasummerresearchcenter,youmaygetbombardedwithletterrequestsfrom
eachofyourstudents.Ihaveseensuchpeoplewriteperfunctoryoneparagraphletters.
Thesehurtstudents,andareultimatelyunethical.Someonegaveyoumoneytorunthat
centerwhenyouaskedforit,youtookonanobligation.Fulfillit,orelsegetoutofthe
way.Thereareplentyofotherswhowillgladlyputthatmoneytobetteruse.

ReportingonCourses

Naturally,yourmostsignificantcontactwiththestudentislikelytobeincourses.Yet
whatcouldbearichsourceofdescriptionisoftenthepoorest:MorHarcholBalter
reportsthatatCMU,theycallacertainclassoftheseDWICletters(didwellin
class),whichareeffectivelyuseless.

Giveuscontext.Whattextbookdidyouuse?Howmuchofitdidyoucover?Didthe
studenttakeitearlierthanusual?

Don'tjustreportthegradeputitinperspective.Howmanystudentsgotthatgradeor
better?Ifyourtranscriptisn'tnuanced(e.g.,atBrownwegiveonlylettergradeswith
no+/decorations),fillitin.Didtheydoanexceptionaljobatsomething?(Tellus
whattheydid!)Weretheybiasedtowardssomeaspectofyourclass?(Forinstance,in

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myprogramminglanguagescourse,sometakemuchbettertothetheoreticalaspects,
whileotherspreferthesystemswork.Thetranscriptwon'trevealthis,butit's
extremelyvaluableinformationforaprofessortryingtodecidewhetherornotto
recruitastudent.)

ReportingonPersonality
Thisistricky,butitcanhelpapotentialadvisorassesshowgoodafitthestudentwill
be.Someadvisorsworkbestwithquiet,shystudents,otherswithboisterousones.Be
ashonestasnecessary.Forinstance,I'vehadthepleasureofworkingwithnumerous
exceptionalstudents,butafewhavehadmorepeculiarpersonalitiesthanthenorm.In
suchcases,Iwriteacareandfeedingsection(thisgoesbacktothebitabout
credibility).Ihaveneveryetknownthistobeheldagainstthestudent.

CorporateLetters

Animportantspecialcaseisthecorporateletter:whenyou,theletterwriter,workin
industryandhavenoacademicaffiliation.Manycorporateletters(likemanyacademic
letters,butmoreso)tendtobevapid,clearlywritteninadifferentcultureandfora
differentaudience.Unlesstheyactuallydidacademicresearchwithyou,herearesome
suggestionsforimprovingthem.

Acommonmistakeistofocusonteamwork.Thisisimportanteveninacademia,but
oftenthisistheprimaryfocusoftheletter,whichmakesitlessvaluable.Ofcoursewe
careaboutit,butit'ssecondarytotheirtechnicalskills.

Tellusiftheylearnedsomethingparticularlyquickly,masteredacomplex
technology,orsolvedaproblemotherswerestuckon.Giveusaparagraphof
details.
Ifyouhaveaconcretereasontoevaluateresearchpotential,dosoconcretely.
Otherwise,don'tbother.
Giveusabriefbiosketch,includingeducationalqualifications.
Puttheapplicantincontext,andtellusthecontext.It'sfinetorelateittoyour
ownstudentdays,ortoyourexperiencehiringstudents.E.g.:

ComparedtothestudentsIstudiedwithatCucumberandMelon
University,andtheonesInowrecruitfromthere,Iwouldputhim
inthetop10%.

Don'tPersonalize(or,HowtoPersonalize)
Don'twasteyourtimepersonalizingtheletterforeachschool,unlessyoureally
personalizeit.I'mnotimpressedbyyourmailmergeprogram.Absolutelynobody
caresthatyoudon'tlistBrown'spostaladdressatthetopoftheletter.Spendthatextra
minuteorfivemakingtheletterbetter.Besides,invariably,youwillmessup:every
yearwegetahandfuloflettersstuffedinthewrongenvelope.(Justbecausethey're
goodenoughforHarvarddoesn'tmeanthey'regoodenoughforus![IhopeGreg
Morrisettdoesn'treadthis.])

Ofcourse,youcouldreallypersonalizealetterbywritingaparagraphspecifictoan
institution.Butonlydothisifyoureallyhavesomethingtosay.Forinstance,I
sometimeswrite,

HeyfolksEvaEchidnaismorededicatedthanJonasJackarooandevery
bitassmartasWalterWallaby,bothofwhomarepaststudentsofmine
whoappeartobethrivinginyourprogram.

YoucoulddothiswithLaTeXorWordmacrotrickery.Inthedaysofpaperlettersit
waseasytojustdothisbyhand(everyoneknowsprofessorscan'taffordmachinesthat
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simulatehandwriting:onlyalumniofficeshavethatkindofmoneyoncampus).It's
harderintheseallelectronicdays.

Asimpler,butalsoimportant,levelofpersonalizationistotakeintoaccountthe
qualityofthetargetinstitution.Sometimes,studentsapplytoschoolswellbeyondtheir
quality,andyoumaynotbeabletotalkthemoutofit(nor,perhaps,shouldyou
they'rejustexercisingtheirfreedom).Youmayconsiderhavingslightlydifferent
letters,oneforeachlevelofinstitution.Acheapwaytoachievethesameeffectisto
simplymarkdifferentboxesinthetablesyou'reaskedtofillin(e.g.,markthemina
higherpercentileforschoolswhereyouthinktheybelong,andalowerpercentilefor
placeswheretheywillbeovermatched).

Whilewe'reatit,here'sagreatinstanceofcustomizationgonewrong(theellipsesare
mine,therestisliteraltext):

Itismypleasuretorecommend...beadmittedtothePhDinComputer
ScienceprogramatBrownUniversity.Iamanassociateprofessorinthe
DepartmentofComputerScience,theUniversityof...,whereIhave
taughtfor[THISMANY]years.

Didn'tevenproofreadit,eh?

AskYourStudentforHelp
Ahyes!Here'swhereItellyoutoaskthestudenttowriteadraftoftheirownletter.
Not.

Askingstudentstowriteevenadraftoftheirownletterisoneoftheshabbiest
practicesIcanimagine.Yes,Iknow,manyotherwiserespectablepeopledoit(I've
evenhadmorethanoneletterwriterofminepeopleIrespectprofoundlyaskme
to).I'veheardargumentsabouthowithelpsastudentdemonstrateprofessionalism,
maturity,andsoon.Thisisn'ttheplacetoexplainwhyI'mcompletelyunswayed.

SowhatdoImean?

Itellmystudentstogivemealistofeverythingaboutthemthattheythinkisrelevant.
Iexplicitlytellthemtobrag(somestudentsareshyandmaynotgivethemselves
enoughcreditotherwise):filteringtheirinputismyjob,nottheirs,andIsayso.
SometimesIdogetitemsthatareoverthetop,butnoharmdone.Muchmoreoftena
studentwillremindmeofsomethingtheydidthatIhadforgotten,butwaswellworth
remembering.

Inparticular,formytopresearchstudentswhoarecurrentlyworkingwithme,Ihave
noshortageofinformation.Butfortheothers,oronesIhaven'tworkedwithina
while,thishelpsimmensely.Someitemsuddenlybringsthemaliveafterseveralyears,
helpingmereconstructforgottendetailsandprovideanillustrationortwo.

TellUsAboutRelevantThingsThatDidn'tHappen

Sometimesthenegativespacesalsomatter:astatementlike

Despitemybesteffortstopersuadehertoworkwithme,Evadecidedto
spendhersecondsummerworkingfortheRockyRaccoonCorporation,a
localmakerofsurveillanceequipment.BecauseofthisIcannotsaymuch
aboutherresearchskills,butI'mtoldshedidgoodworkthere.Moreover,
herexperienceinindustryconvincedhershewouldratherbeingraduate
school.

can,insomecontexts,tellthereaderalot.

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HelpYourStudentsFormaStrategy

It'sveryfrustratingtogetthreeessentiallyidenticalletters.Ifyouaretheadvisor(or
evensimplysomeonewhothinksthestudentdeservestodowell),takealittletimeto
helpstudentsplanouttheirapplicationstrategy.Askthemwhotheirotherwritersare,
helpthemfindwriterswhocanhighlightalltheirstrengths,andidentifypointless
overlap.Summarizeanythingyouthinkweshouldknowabout:e.g.,

IknowthatEvadidasuperbprojectwithProfDolfenfussIwasblown
awaybythecreativityoftheirworkonintrusiondetectionforraccoons
thatraidpumpkinpatches.She'stoldmeshehasaskedDr.D.foraletter,
soItrusthewillelaborate.

JustSayNo

Don'twritealetterbecauseyou'refeelingbadlyforastudent.Wecantellfromyour
letter,anditwon'thelpthestudentonebit.Justsayno.Ifyoureallycareforthe
student,spendthattimeinsteadhelpinghimfindletterwriterswhocanbetterget
acrosshistalents.Heck,maybeheshouldn'tbeapplyingtograduateschoolatall,at
leastnotrightnow.Afewminutesofyourtimemaysavehimyearsofhis.

PracticetheFundamentals

Mailthedarnedthinginontime!Wedon'tbegintoreadapplicationsuntiltheyare
sufficientlycompletetobeworththetime.Whileyou'recraftingyourproseforthe
ParisReview(andfidgetingwiththedetailsofyourmailmergeprogram),your
student'sfolderisbecomingclosefriendswiththehistoric,200+yearold,pre
RevolutionaryWardustinthecornerofsomeofficebuildingatBrown.

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